


The Jasmine Dragon's Inaugural Pai Sho Competition

by FerrousKyra



Series: The One Where EVERY Team Avatar is Ultimately Related [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Rise of Kyoshi, The Shadow of Kyoshi
Genre: Aang Kyoshi & Ty Lee are all cousins, Alternate Universe, Gen, How Do I Tag, Kyoshi hates Pai Sho, Rated T for swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FerrousKyra/pseuds/FerrousKyra
Summary: "Kyoshi is in hell."The Jasmine Dragon is holding an all-day Pai Sho contest for the whole town.
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar) - mentioned, Kyoshi & Iroh, Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar) - mentioned
Series: The One Where EVERY Team Avatar is Ultimately Related [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990165
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	The Jasmine Dragon's Inaugural Pai Sho Competition

Kyoshi is in hell.

Ok, so that's a little (a lot) dramatic but that's how she feels. It was so perfect on paper too-- a nice Sunday out with four of the most important people in her world. _That_ is what they (her mother-in-law & wife, that is, not so much her daughter & father) had told her was happening. They said it was a nice little outing to a quaint little tea shop in the Upper Ring. All of this, of course, is technically true. These are not the reasons Kyoshi is in hell. No, that would be the fact that The Jasmine Dragon, the tea shop, is holding a Pai Sho contest for the whole town. An all-day Pai Sho contest featuring a competition between the White Lotus, & the team Kelsang & Hei-Ran are on.

That last part is the reason Kyoshi has been here ALL _FUCKING_ DAY. She cannot escape the countless townsfolk asking her to play the one game Kyoshi absolutely _loathes_ with all her heart. & it's all because her mother-in-law's team was playing for old people clout.

Kyoshi has tried to avoid it too. She brought Koko around the block several times. She hid herself in every group of people-who-wouldn't-ask all day; & A LOT OF THEM DID ASK! She tried flat-out hiding. That didn't last. (Kyoshi's gotten rusty at making herself small despite her large frame). She tried convincing her daughter to tell Rangi she was tired, so the two of them could leave & Kyoshi would get her ice cream. But her wife was already busy teaching their daughter how to play the spirits-damned game, & Koko was still bright-eyed, taking it all in. Nothing was working.

Currently, Kyoshi is being berated by Ty Lee, her cousin through her adoptive father, & Aang, her cousin through her biological mother. The pair had always been thick-as-thieves growing up & were more than keen to include her any activity because she's the reason they're (sorta-kinda-not-really) cousins. Today though, their bubbly personalities are the opposite of what Kyoshi's mood needs. So, after she absent-mindedly agrees to letting Ty Lee's girlfriend's niece & Koko have a playdate, she excuses herself & makes her way to... wherever her feet carry her.

She winds up asking Iroh, the shop owner (&, as of half an hour ago, 1st-place winner of the old folks competition), if she can help out in the kitchen. Iroh seems to have picked-up on Kyoshi's disdain for her current environment & escorts her there with little fuss. After he dismisses the employees in the kitchen to do some other tasks, the two of them fall into a comfortable silence. For the first time since she arrived at the shop, Kyoshi is relaxed.

Eventually Iroh asks "Your name is Kyoshi, correct? Hei-Ran speaks of you not uncommonly. From what I hear she is very proud of you, for more than just raising her granddaughter."

Kyoshi is somewhat taken-aback from the sudden start to the conversation, & the contents of his words, but recovers quickly. "Thank you, Uncle." Kyoshi has always been one for formality, & Iroh is her elder, so she uses the impromptu title, "I haven't heard much of you, sir, but I know she holds a lot of respect for you; & that isn't something to be taken lightly."

The man chuckles for a moment before adding, "That is certainly true, young lady." Kyoshi responds by exhaling out a not-quite-laugh. "You seem to not be enjoying the event, Kyoshi. If you would like to talk about it, I hope that you can feel free to humor this old man."

She feels somewhat lighter at that, but only continues her self-appointed task of washing tea cups for a few moments before responding. "I just-...I just don't like Pai Sho... &, everyone keeps asking me to play, & it's just constant, constant berating..." She cuts herself off there, willing herself to keep her composure.

After a long pause, Iroh presses on. "May I ask why you dislike the game so much, Kyoshi?"

She once again takes several moments to compose herself, before sputtering out "Everyone... seems to think that it's some great... THING that shows how good a strategist or... how flat-out smart people are. &..." Kyoshi leaves her mouth slightly open, staring at the porcelain dishware in her hand; tying to breath properly. Trying to force the words out, instead of clamming up, like usual.

Iroh waits in silence.

"& I'm really shit at it!" After yet another pause, "& that makes me feel... shitty."

She presses-on before Iroh is done waiting to add his response. "& I can't for the life of me learn! Between my father, my childhood best friend, my wife, & her mother trying desperately to teach me... I'm just shit."

Finally, Kyoshi finds her rhythm, forfeiting her stony composure. "& I DON"T WANT TO LEARN! I don't want to play; & I never will! & people always ask; & they always judge me when I say no, &\--" She lets out a frustrated growl.

"FUCK." Kyoshi's gloved hands are in her hair. They're dirty, & she regrets it immediately; but it's too late now, so she continues to rake her fingers across her scalp.

"There is more than one way to measure intelligence." Iroh tries to soothe. "There is more than one _type_ of intelligence. & while Pai Sho may be one method many people use, it is, ultimately, just a game." Kyoshi's hands seem to still at that. It's a start.

"Whatever people think of you," Iroh presses on, "for the silly game, or not, their methods are their own. It reflects more on them than it does you." He tried adding an air of nonchalance at the very end there. He's not sure if it comes off as that, though.

Kyoshi's hands move to grip the edge of the sink, then she breathes out heavily. "Thank you, Iroh." It's barely above a whisper.

He responds with a sagely not; humming to convey so since she's facing away from him. She does notice, though.

Kyoshi, in the small kitchen, washing dishes with a near-stranger, is finally content after hours of grating frustration.

After a few more hours, Kyoshi knows a decent amount about the man's nephew & nieces. She finds out that his nephew's daughter is the kid Ty Lee had asked to arrange a playdate for. That Iroh's niece (by blood, his sister-in-law remarried) is Ty Lee's girlfriend. How he met Kelsang, Hei-Ran & the other members of the rival Pai Sho group, 'Kuruk's Babysitters,' & the members of the White Lotus.

She tells him about her darling, Koko. How she & Rangi wound-up adopting her. How she met Hei-Ran, & later, her future wife. How Jinpa, her secretary is part of the White Lotus. How much shit Jinpa gives her. How much she gives to him.

By the end of the day Kyoshi feels she has made a true friend.

When Rangi pokes her head into the kitchen & tells her they're heading out, Kyoshi tells Iroh that if he ever runs this event again, she would be happy to help work the kitchen. Then, she gives a respectful goodbye & joins her family to go home.


End file.
